The Poisoner

Very thirties. Very wayward. A sordid adventuress, even. For the elderly gentleman? Lillet with arsenic.

Planet Squeezebox

A so-called 'mechanical'--the postcard has a little paper tab which when pulled makes the right arm move back and forth as if the man (woman ?) here were playing.

One enjoys the sound of the accordion, musette, concertina, bandoneon, squeeze boxes of all sorts. Some version of the concertina known in virtually every culture on earth. Planet Squeezebox: the name of a marvelous 4-CD set from the 90s of world music spotlighting accordions and the like. Pure joy. Fine fun. Does the name *Gus Viseur* light up any switchboards?

Clowns Versus Cricketers, 1911

Yes, I have redesigned blog. Tired of the lady with the public hair. (sic) The image in the header is a detail--here's the entire photo. B.U.A.C? Something involving 'British [?] Amateur Cricket'[?]

Ain't No Mountain High Enough

Martha in mourning for NICKOLAS ASHFORD and all those hit tunes. George told her about his vision . . . .

T H E M O T O R C I T Y

Promenade 1931

From an Italian promotional brochure for cosmetics. Impossible to dislike Art Deco in this expert handling.
Plus odd style bonus: exaggeration and elongation of lower bodies on these two--likewise visual contrast between the man's white polo pants and black boots--remind me of Tom of Finland's pornographic supermen.

What, I Cannot Decide

A rather beautiful studio shot--the flower-posy and unself-consciousness are charming.

But I am addled: is the Jack Russell terrier here real, stuffed, or some kind of 2-dimensional creation? The sheepskin (?) on the floor is ontologically baffling, too--how can a 2-dimensional dog be sitting on an apparently 3-dimensional rug, or is a mirror somehow involved? I can't get this picture to make sense.

Everything So French

In Deauville or Dieppe in the 1950s... Where is M. Hulot when you need him?

Hello Kitty

Sumpin bad gonna happen. Or I guess has already happened--over a century ago. Cyanotype from the lonely prairies...

What A Day

...that was. Everyone's 5th-grade teacher breaking down in tears. Then: send 'em all home to their parents.
Was in Dallas this spring and saw the museum in the Book Depository. You can look out from the same window Oswald shot from. Everything so much *smaller* in scale, somehow, than what one gleaned from the Zapruder film.

If Gertrude Stein Had Been A Woman

She might have looked like the man on the left.

A pair of 'religious radio broadcasters' from times past. Don't have the card in front of me so I can't supply the names. Etta and Claribel Cone?

Annals of Dachshund History, Volume 243

Possibly one of Wally's working-class ancestors. But whenever she and I try this trick my bed duddn't move. I don't have a little riding crop either.

Some Serious Anglican Drag

Miss Vesta Tilley, late 19th-c. drag performer extraordinaire--old pc found last weekend at the Golden Gate Park Vintage Paper Show.

Those shoes make me feel faint with religious exaltation.

Me So Dreamy

From my Ruritanian past. Vintage Paper show at Golden Gate Park today. 5 hours standing up, bending over large file boxes full of cards... Untold thousands of anonymous photographs. Will be posting some of the most brilliant soon.

Flagg's Hair Store

Late Victorian trade card. Peculiar from just about every angle.